Blur bemoan Olympic commercialism

Blur are still desperately distancing themselves from Olympic hype. With the acute social observation skills for which he is famous, Damon Albarn has suggested that, "It feels like you're drowning in commercialism at the moment."

Albarn told The Sun that he found the relentless commercialism of the Games depressing. He insists that the Hyde Park gig on August 12, where Blur will play on a bill that includes New Order and The Specials and which coincides with the closing ceremony of the Olympics, is for the people rather than the Games organisers. "I'm just anti the capitalism of it all," Albarn said. "We're not doing the gig for the corporate side of the Olympics, we're doing it for the human beings."

The Hyde Park show will feature mostly a greatest hits sets, although Blur have a couple of new songs they are playing live. Albarn described Under The Westway as "a nice thing to play on a summer’s day in Hyde Park, though it's not just for a sunny day, it's for a rainy day too. We’re not doing the show for the weather, we’re doing it for the park and the people."

Albarn might be dismissive of the Games’ corporate nature, but he isn’t above putting out what sounded like a blatant attempt to blag some tickets. "I am into the table tennis," he hinted, "so I would like to get some tickets for that. It would be an inspiration to see it at that level."

In the midst of all his moans about commercialism and marketing hype, Albarn is releasing a Blur box set comprising the band’s seven albums and five hours of additional material.